Geological Engineering is one awesome, rock-loving family. The Geo class sizes are typically smaller than other engineering programs, which allows for you to get to know everyone very well. It’s a close-knit group of students that will become your close friends over the course of your degree – you will study with, work with, and celebrate your successes with them.
Geological Engineering itself is a combination of Earth Sciences and Civil Engineering. This program can lead you on several different paths. From subsurface structures like tunnelling or mine design in a more rock mechanics focused branch, all of the way to river mechanics in the hydrogeology discipline, there is a wide variety to be discovered within this field.
One of the best parts of being in Geological Engineering is the many co-op opportunities. The chance to travel is abundant. Geo Eng students have travelled from Vancouver to Nova Scotia, as far north as the Northwest Territories, and even internationally for their co-op terms.
But now something a bit more relevant: your 1A term! Look forward to taking Chemistry, Linear Algebra, Physics, Calculus and the Engineering Concepts course, all of which will help to get you all onto the same page by the time 1B rolls around. This Engineering Concepts course will introduce you to the basics of AutoCAD, surveying and writing technical reports. These are all very important skills for the rest of your university and professional career – not to mention that they will help you land your first few co-op placements. Some of the best courses that you will encounter in your first few terms are Earth Engineering, Geochemistry, Structural Geology, and Stratigraphy and Earth History. In later years, you have field trips to look forward to as well – Bancroft in 2B for Mineralogy, field mapping around the Sudbury area in 3B and travelling internationally at the end of 4B. In the past, classes have gone all the way to Peru to explore mines!
So welcome to Geological Engineering at the University of Waterloo, your home away from home for the next five years. Geo Rocks!
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